31 Days of REAL

 

Let me set the scene for you.  It's 7:30 am.  I am dressed in my leggings, amazing shirt, and perfect flats.  My ankles are crossed and they are resting on my perfectly staged coffee table complete with magazines and a bowl of decorative balls.  I have a book in my lap.  My house is completely quiet.  In one hand is my coffee mug and in my other I am taking a picture that will be perfectly filtered to showcase the perfect lighting that is creeping in through the windows. 

 

WRONG!

 

The REAL scene is that it is 7:30 am and I am still in my PJ's.  Some days I stay in my PJ's all day.  My legs need to be shaved.  We don't have a coffee table because my living room floor turns into a obstacle course (among other things) throughout the day for two little boys who start out the day as best friends and end the day with fist bumps and high fives.  I do get magazine subscriptions in the mail. Some of them I have no idea why I am receiving and go straight in the garbage (ahem-Traveler Magazine?).  Others I get for free by cashing in product rewards points and end up in a pile until ultimately meeting the same fate. I have been reading a book for weeks now.  I am finished with Chapter One.  My house is only quiet after 10 pm.  In my hands are usually little hands leading me to the playroom or handing me a book to read.  My drinks are usually taken over by two little boys who are convinced that mommy's drink is much better than their own even when we are all three drinking milk. No matter how hard I try I can never filter my pictures to look so perfectly light and airy as the pictures that show up on my Instagram. 

 

The truth is that I started this blog because I wanted to show the realness and honesty of motherhood.  I wanted to show the good, the bad, and the ugly - especially the bad and the ugly.  Being a mom is hard.  Being a parent is hard.  I wish people would stop pretending that it's anything other than just plain hard.  But I found myself struggling to show the bad and the ugly.  That's why this challenge is a big one for me.  I came across this blogging challenge a few days ago - 31 Days of Blogging.  The goal is to choose one topic and blog about it every day during the month of October.  I knew instantly what I wanted to blog about - REALNESS.  Sure, I'm a few days late getting it started but hey, I'm a mom and I'm usually running late.  REALNESS.